Vitra Relax products cost €2,500 each. The government has bought 85 for the new Parliament.

More than €370,000 were spent by the government on office chairs for the new Parliament building.

The bill does not include the cost of the seats in the chamber itself but only covers those being used in MPs’ offices and a debating room in an adjacent building.

The purchase included a number of designer executive chairs including Vitra Relax products, costing €2,500 each.

The chairs were originally de­signed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1958 and are described by the interior decorating firm that sells them as “one of the most important furniture designs of the 20th century”.

In all, 85 of these chairs were bought for €212,500.

A contract was signed. If we did not honour that agreement we would have been liable for damages

According to a procurement document, the chromed swivel chairs were bought through a direct order from Italian office supplier Infor Spa in 2012.

The document states that the purchase had been based on a recommendation by project designer Renzo Piano’s building workshop and given the green light by then infrastructure minister Austin Gatt.

A government spokesman told Times of Malta the government was bound to the deal struck by the previous administration and could face litigation if the chairs were not accepted.

“A contract was signed. If we did not honour that agreement we would have been liable for damages,” he said.

The total bill for loose furniture for the new building totals an impressive €450,000. But it turns out that the government might have actually stuck a good deal on the purchase.

The document indicates that the price, including transport and onsite installation, was competitive and remained lower than the original budget allocated to furnish the building.

Original plastic chair design featured in New York’s Museum of Modern Art

The purchase of 151 designer plastic chairs at €82, for the building’s waiting rooms, was considered to be a bargain.

The government spent €12,382 on the plastic seats, which might be quite reasonably priced considering the original design was featured in New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

Other purchases include 22 swivel chairs at €1,250 each and 21 chromed chairs at €1,350, both of which were also designed by the Eames duo.

These two purchases set the government back about €56,000.

The combined cost of the remaining office chairs totalled just under €90,000.